Carmen DeSousa

Warning!!! Spoiler Alert!!! This is an excerpt from Creatus Animus , the fourth book (fifth if you count the prequel) in the ongoing Creatus series. Although each book can stand on its own, you will learn secrets that will spoil the mystery and suspense for you if you read out of order. If you haven't already read the Creatus series, find the entire series on Amazon.com . For the rest of you, welcome to the first peek of Creatus Animus . I hope you enjoy. Carmen If we allow enmity in our hearts, war is inevitable... For four thousand years, creatus have concealed themselves from the humans who hunted them almost to extinction. Now, one rogue faction plans to retaliate by ridding the world of humankind. Only one division of creatus, with the strength and numbers to fight the sinister sect, stands between humanity and a new world order. What they discover, however, might prove the truth about the creatus myths, and why humans started hunting them so man...

As soon as I wrote that title, I was reminded of the age-old rule of querying that if chapter one in your book isn't the best chapter, it should be. Ugh ... really? Do you buy that? I don't! Yes, it should grip the reader! But if it's really the best chapter, why would I read the rest of the book, since it'll all be downhill from there? In my opinion, a series is the same way. Yes, the first book better be darn good to make readers want to buy the next one. But let's face it, if it's the best one, you aren't really doing your job with character development. I find this true with sitcoms. I can't count how many times I've watched a pilot and said, "Eh ... I'd rather read", or my son tells me about a series that's been out for years, and I've never heard about it. I watch the first one, and I'm hooked. Why? Because I have to know what's gonna happen next. Because I fell in love with the characters I...

For four thousand years, creatus have concealed themselves from the humans who hunted them almost to extinction. Unwittingly, one creatus will endanger them all... As with most of his family, Derrick Ashton knows his future and what position he’s destined to fill within his unique society. Everything changes, however, when he breaks one of his family’s strictest laws and falls in love—with a human. In his quest to protect the woman he can never have, a twist of faith propels him into a new role that will cause dissension among his family and endanger the anonymity that they’ve strived for thousands of years to protect. Now, he will risk everything to save the girl from humans and his own kind. The one thing he can’t save her from, however … is herself. The Creatus Series is not your normal paranormal story ... it's a  realistic  twist of the myths you've heard your entire life. Prepare to believe... The Prequel ~...

As an author, I've learned that no matter what you write, how you describe what you wrote, or what other reviewers commented about what you wrote, there will still be readers who don't get it. So, even though I still read every review, they don't upset me as they used to, and some just crack me up, so I wanted to share. Just one of my many book descriptions:  Ancient myths, superheroes, vampires... Forget everything you've heard. Review: "The description of this book makes you think that its (her misspelling, not mine) about vampires..." Review: "I think this book has potential to be   popular but   it just is not my type of book - too vampire/alien- ish   for me." Yes, those two reviews were from the same book, and they were back to back. Gotta laugh! So, which is it? Remember, I told you, Forget everything you've heard... Definition of   a Vampire: a preternatural being that is said to suck the blood... (Reme...